When I checked into the hotel in Lonoke, Arkansas, I asked the girl behind the counter what the hell there was to do in the area.

I had been driving for hours and hours, and it amazed me how much empty space there is in the South - how spread out the cities and towns are. It may feel like we're overpopulated in the Northeast, however the South is far from crowded.

She seemed a little defeated when she answered me, explaining that there was essentially nothing to do - that you had to create your own fun (camping, fires, hunting).

But killing is not my thing and I asked her, "What about drinking?"

"It's a dry county," she said, "They don't sell any alcohol here."

"Well," I said, "At least the people with the guns over their shoulders aren't intoxicated."

She did not laugh, and handed me my room key.

Anyway:

I'm on day eight of my cross-country road trip, currently in Blacksburg visiting my old stomping grounds (Virginia Tech).

This is the last day of the trip - tomorrow I arrive in the Philadelphia area, at which point I promise to start putting a little more time into my posts and coverage.

Bear with me for now - more to come on The View Hotel in Monument Valley, and I still have to tell you about Eagle Island in Georgia, as well as my travel plans for 2012 (the first three months are stacked!).

This photo made me laugh (although I do feel for the deer) and pretty much sums up what the girl behind the counter was talking about.

famtripper fun fact

Uffizi GalleryThe Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy is packed with Renaissance paintings. To avoid an artistic overload, please consider seeing the entire collection over two visits. Rooms 1-15, which highlight the Florentine Renaissance, would be for the first visit. The second visit could be devoted to rooms 16-45 which emphasizes High Rensaissance to later Italian and European paintings.